House bill would ban texting and driving

The Texas House on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban texting and driving - but only after a raucus debate, one tie vote and another that would have overturned El Paso's ban on any cell phone use behind the wheel.

The texting bill was written by former House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. A staunch conservative, Craddick said he had voted against Texas' requirement that motorists wear seatbelts. But now, partly because of his grandchildren, Craddick says he thinks differently.

"I'm very sorry I voted against it," Craddick said of the seat-belt law.

Perhaps ironically, an amendent to the texting ban would have allowed more cell phone use for El Paso drivers. Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, successfully proposed to ban texting, but to allow other cell phone use in El Paso and Amarillo - the only two Texas cities where cellular use by drivers in any form is banned. Smithee argued that having an inconsistent patchwork of rules only confuses motorists.

El Paso Reps. Joe Pickett and Joe Moody, both Democrats, got Smithee to agree to an amendment that would get rid of the cell phone ban in Amarillo, but keep it in El Paso. The amendment passed. If it becomes law, it would mean that no other Texas towns could ban gabbing on the phone while driving, Pickett said.

The House then fell into an impassioned debate over whether to make the texting ban a "primary" offense, meaning that if cops think you're texting, they can stop you.

An amendment offered by Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, would make texting a non-primary offense. It meant that motorists could only be cited for texting while driving if they were pulled over for something else.

Dutton's amendment drew the support of an unlikely coalition of black, Hispanic and Asian legislators - many of them liberal Democrats - and conservative Republicans. Minority legislators, including Dutton, who is black, said texting would be another excuse for police to engage in racial profiling. Conservatives said the ban amounted to more government intrusion in people's lives.

Color or political ideology was hardly determinitive, however. Many conservatives and minorities - and a few conservative minorities - voted for the texting ban.

The split was so even that the House split 72-72 on an initial vote on the amendment. That meant the measure failed.

The final texting ban passed 98-47, with Rep. Naomi Gonzalez, D-El Paso, the sole member of the local delegation, voting against it.